Jurisdiction over election disputes within a Jama-ath rests with the Waqf Tribunal, contradicting earlier misinterpretations of precedence.

JUDGMENT Amit Rawal, J.

The present CRP (Waqf) is directed against the order of the Tribunal dated 22.4.2025 dismissing the WOS No.65 of 2023 claiming the following reliefs:

1. To declare the 88 votes, which are under special custody of the second respondent Wakf Board and are in dispute, as invalid.

2. To declare the newly elected governing committee based on the remaining 402 valid votes and direct the second respondent Wakf Board to take necessary action accordingly.

3. To prevent outsiders from becoming members of the Mahalla.

4. To remove from membership 122 persons from the General Body of the first respondent committee who were included by artificial and illegal means.

5. To grant such other reliefs as the Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper, including reliefs sought by the petitioners against the illegalities.

6. To order the respondents to bear all court costs arising from these illegal acts and any other relief the Tribunal finds just and proper.

2. The pith and substance of the grievance as borne out from the OS is that the term of the committee of the Jama- ath Mangad Noorul Hidaya Committee was over and the elections could not be held. On the basis of the request made by the few of the members of the jama-ath which is also registered with the Society under the Societies Act, the waqf Board appointed two persons; one Returning Officer and another interim Muthawally for the management of the committee as well as holding of the election for the year 2022. Accordingly, notice was published for the election on 20.5.2023. The interim Muthawally as per the averments in the plain published a notice on the notice board by inducting 112 members to the Jama-ath. The aforementioned action was assailed in this Court vide WP(C) No.15502 of 2023 along with other writ petition No.15658 of 2023. In the meantime, the elections were permitted to proceed and the newly added persons were permitted to cast their vote. However 88 votes were polled, which were kept in a separate box but was ordered to be counted for the declaration of the result with a liberty to the affected party to move a suit before the Tribunal challenging the aforementioned act of interim Muthawally.

The order dated 6.6.2023 reads thus:

These matters are related to the election of Mangadu Noorul Hidaya Committee. The election is called in question by the persons claiming to be the members that Mahallu Committee through this writ petition. At the out set, it is doubtful as to the maintainability of the writ petition filed by the members of the Mahallu Committee in regard to the election of the Committee. Be that it may, this Court on 19.05.2023 passed an order in W.P(C)No.15502 of 2023 to keep the disputed votes in separate ballot box and to declare the results. The results have been published and a new Committee appears to have taken charge.

2. It is now stated at the Bar, WAQF Board is keeping the custody of the disputed votes numbering 88 (as polled).

3. The election disputes can be decided only by the competent authority like WAQF Tribunal. The parties are relegated to approach the Tribunal. The Tribunal shall consider the challenge to the election as expeditiously as possible. The Tribunal can decide the fate of vote polled by the disputants (88) after hearing both sides.

4. The Tribunal can summon the production of the votes from the WAQF Board and take appropriate decision after hearing both sides.

5. If any suit is filed by the Tribunal, that shall be disposed of as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of six months. 6. The WAQF Board shall keep the ballot box in the safe custody until it is ordered to be produced before the Tribunal. Declining to interfere with the matter, we dispose of these writ petitions.

3. Accordingly, the petitioner filed W.O.S No.65 of 2023 with the reliefs aforementioned. However, the Tribunal, vide the impugned order under challenge, rejected